Location-based network system and location-based communication method

ABSTRACT

A location-based network system is provided. The location-based network system includes a plurality of communication nodes to transmit a data packet based on the location of each node and a distance between each node and a destination node. A location-based communication method is also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of PCT/US15/34022 filed on Jun. 3,2015, which claims priority to Taiwanese Patent Application No.103119388 filed on Jun. 4, 2014, the contents of each application areincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

The subject matter herein generally relates to network systems andcommunication methods, and particularly to location-based networksystems and location-based communication methods.

BACKGROUND

With the development of network communication, sensing and electronictechnology, a network system having multiple terminal devices (which areusually different types of sensors) and multiple transmission nodes hasbeen widely used in a number of fields such as traffic control,environment monitoring, property management, health care, and otherorganizations. Generally, the terminal devices and the transmissionnodes are limited in computing power, transmission capacity, and storagespace. Therefore, the packet transmitted in the network or between thenetwork may be easily lost, and the amount of information carried by thepacket is smaller. The aforementioned network architecture is also knownas low-power and lossy networks (LLNs).

Additionally, a mesh network with routing propagates the data packetsalong a path by hopping from node to node until the packets reach thedestination, thus increasing the deliverability rate of the datapackets. To ensure all path availability, the mesh network allows forcontinuous connections and reconfigures itself around broken paths byusing self-healing algorithms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the present disclosure, and are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrateexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with thedescription, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a location-based networksystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2A to FIG. 2E are schematic diagrams illustrating an operation of alocation-based network system according to a first embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3A to FIG. 3G are schematic diagrams illustrating an operation of alocation based system according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4A to FIG. 4H are schematic diagrams illustrating an operation of alocation based system according to another example of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5A to FIG. 5G are schematic diagrams illustrating an operation of alocation-based network system according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example related tounmanned aerial vehicles in the location-based network system of FIG.1-5G.

FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C are schematic diagrams illustrating an operation of alocation-based network system according to a second embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a location-based networksystem according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a location-based communication methodaccording to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a location-based communicationmethod according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a location-based communicationmethod according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a location-based communicationmethod according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among thedifferent figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. Inaddition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, itwill be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that theembodiments described herein can be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, methods, procedures and components have notbeen described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevantfeature being described. The drawings are not necessarily to scale andthe proportions of certain parts may be exaggerated to better illustratedetails and features. The description is not to be considered aslimiting the scope of the embodiments described herein.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a location-based networksystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 1,a location-based network system 100 includes at least one switch nodebwRouter/wGateway and a plurality of communication nodes bNode/wNode.The switch nodes bwRouter/wGateway can receive data packets from atleast one terminal device bTag/wTag through the communication nodesbNode/wNode, and further can transmit data packets to the at least oneterminal device bTag/wTag through the communication nodes bNode/wNode.More specifically, the switch nodes bwRouter/wGateway can be furtherconnected to a cloud network platform 40 so that the location-basednetwork system 100 can transmit the data packets to the cloud networkplatform 40 or receive the data packets from the cloud network platform40. The arrows in FIG. 1 represent a transmission direction of the datapackets. Basically, the terminal device bTag, the communication nodebNode, the switch node bRouter/bwRouter have a Bluetooth function, andthe terminal device wTag, the communication node wNode, the switch nodewRouter/bwRouter/wGateway have a WiFi function. The switch node bwRouterof FIG. 1 is able to replaced by the switch node wRouter to betterconstruct the location-based network system 100.

The switch node bwRouter/wRouter can be a router, the switch nodewGateway can be a gateway. Also, each switch node can include at least acommunication module 11 and a processor 12. In this embodiment, theprocessor 12 can be a central processing unit, a digital signalprocessor, a single chip, a microprogrammed control unit (MCU), or asystem on a chip (SOC). More specifically, the switch nodebwRouter/wRouter/wGateway can use utility power or battery power as thepower source and use its communication module to communicate with thecommunication nodes bNode/wNode and the cloud network platform 40. Inaddition, the communication of bwRouter is mainly based on the Bluetoothlow energy (BLE) protocol and the WIFI protocol, and the communicationof wGateway is mainly based on the WIFI protocol and/or the 3G/4G/5Gmobile telecommunications technology.

The switch nodes bwRouter/wRouter/wGateway may utilize other protocolsto communicate with the communication nodes bNode/wNode and the cloudnetwork platform 40, such as the Bluetooth protocol, the ZigBeeprotocol, the ANT+ protocol, the worldwide interoperability formicrowave access (WIMAX) protocol, and/or the long term evolution (LTE)protocol. Furthermore, the communication module in the switch nodes canbe an integrated communication module adapted for a variety ofprotocols. For example, the communication module in the switch nodebwRouter/wGateway can include a dual-band WIFI module and a dual-modeBluetooth module. The dual-band WIFI module can work on both the 5 GHzband and the 2.4 GHz band and can be used in a long-distance wirelesstransmission. The dual-mode Bluetooth module can include a master moduleand a slave module and can be used in a short-distance wirelesstransmission. In addition, the switch nodes bwRouter/wRouter/wGatewaycan be connected to the cloud network platform in a wired manner (e.g.,Ethernet or other fixed network protocols).

The communication nodes bNode/wNode can include at least a wirelesscommunication module 21 and a processor 22. In this embodiment, theprocessor 12 may be a central processing unit, a digital signalprocessor, a single chip, a microprogrammed control unit (MCU), or asystem on a chip (SOC). More specifically, the communication nodesbNode/wNode may use utility power as the main power source, but avariety of batteries may also serve as the power source. In thelocation-based network system 100, the communication node bNode performsdata transmission and communicates with the other communication nodes,the switch nodes, or the terminal devices mainly based on the Bluetoothprotocol or the Bluetooth low energy (BLE) protocol. However, in otherembodiments, the communication node bNode may also perform datatransmission with the other communication nodes, the switch nodes, orthe terminal devices based on other protocols, such as the Zigbeeprotocol or the ANT+ protocol. Generally, the communication node bNodehas a shorter effective transmission distance and thus needs to bedisposed densely. On the other hand, the communication node wNodegenerally performs long-distance wireless transmission. In addition, thecommunication node wNode performs data transmission and communicate withthe other communication nodes, the switch nodes, or the terminal devicesmainly based on the WIFI protocol. Furthermore, the communication nodewNode may perform data transmission and communicate with the othercommunication nodes, the switch nodes, or the terminal devices based onthe IEEE 802.11ah protocol, which utilizes sub 1 GHz (such as 315 MHz,433 MHz, 868 MHz, 915 Mhz) license-exempt bands to provide extendedrange WIFI networks. In other embodiments, the communication nodesbNode/wNode may be set up in groups, and digital information connectionand exchange between the groups of the communication nodes may berealized by a universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART), aserial peripheral interface bus (SPI Bus), an inter-integrated circuit(I2C) or in combo module such as Broadcom BCM4335, or Intel® Edisonboard.

In this embodiment, the switch nodes bwRouter/wRouter/wGateway and thecommunication nodes bNode/wNode are respectively installed on aplurality of facilities or a plurality of landmarks that have fixedlocations. For example, the facilities may be indoor lightingapparatuses, street lights, traffic lights, home appliances or the like,and the landmarks may be railings, bulletin boards or the like. Itshould be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to the above.For example, the switch nodes and the communication nodes may beintegrated with light emitting diodes (LED) to be disposed in indoorlighting apparatuses or street lights. On the other hand, thecommunication nodes may be a standalone communication module powered bya battery.

It should be noted that, during the installation process, it isimportant to install or dispose the switch nodesbwRouter/wRouter/wGateway and the communication nodes bNode/wNode atfixed geographic locations. Namely, the switch nodes and thecommunication nodes are installed or disposed at fixed longitudes,latitudes, and altitudes. During the installation process, thelongitudes, latitudes, and heights of the switch nodes and those of thecommunication nodes are set up in the hardware respectively. Inaddition, the communication node is able to record the longitudes,latitudes, and heights of the neighboring switch nodes. Also, thelatitude and longitude of the switch node or the communication node maybe set up by using a built-in global positioning system (GPS) module.

The terminal device bTag/wTag connected to the location-based networksystem 100 may be a mobile communication device, a wearable sensingdevice, an implantable sensing device, a home appliance, a fixed sensingdevice, a stationary actuating device or the like. However, it should benoticed that the present disclosure is not limited to the above. Morespecifically, the mobile communication device may be a portableelectronic device, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or alaptop computer. The mobile communication device connected to thelocation-based network system 100 may send a call or a text message tothe cloud network platform 40 or other mobile communication devicesthrough the switch nodes bwRouter/wRouter/wGateway and the communicationnodes bNode/wNode. In addition, the mobile communication device may usevarious applications that require network connection based on thelocation-based network system 100.

In addition, the wearable sensing device may be a sensing device worn bythe user for measuring physiological parameters, such as asphygmomanometer, an oximeter, a plantar pressure sensor, a brain wavesensor, a gyroscope, or a triaxial accelerometer. And the implantablesensing device may be an implantable ECG sensor. Thus, thelocation-based network system 100 can be a part of a medical monitoringinfrastructure for assisting a hospital or a doctor to monitor thehealth status of patients at any time. Various physiological parametersobtained by the wearable sensing device can be transmitted to a medicalmonitoring system built on the cloud network platform 40 via thelocation-based network system 100.

Moreover, the home appliance may be a home electronic product, such as arefrigerator, an air conditioner, a fan, or a TV. The fixed sensingdevice may be a sensing device (e.g., a thermometer, a hygrometer, amanometer, or a luminance meter) installed in a room or on a variety offurniture (e.g., a wash basin, a toilet, a closest, a bathroom, aceiling, a wall, a chair, or a bed) for measuring environmentalparameters. Moreover, the fixed sensing device may be a magnetic reedswitch installed on a handle of a refrigerator, a drawer, a window, alocker, a faucet, a gas switch and other devices that open and close. Byconnecting the home appliances, the fixed sensing devices, and thestationary actuating devices to the location-based network system 100, asmart home environment could be realized, thus making a user monitor andcontrol the home environment via the location-based network system 100.

It should be noticed that the terminal device bTag can be a RFID tagattached on objects (i.e., tools, consumables and goods of a businessabode, a factory and a family), persons (i.e., the children, the aged,and the foreign domestic workers), or animals (e.g., pets, zoo animals,forest animals), and other objects that communication or location isdesired. The communication node bNode can include or combine with a UHFRFID reader to read the RFID tags attached on the objects, the persons,and the animals. Once the at least one communication node bNode read theRFID tag, the at least one communication nodes bNode transmits thelatitude, longitude, and altitude of itself to the cloud networkplatform or a server by using the location-based network system 100,thus obtaining the location of the RFID tag attached on the object, theperson, or the animal. If there are at least three communication nodesbNode that read a same RFID tag at the same time, the cloud networkplatform or the server can accurately calculate the location of the RFIDtag by using triangulation technology. On the other hand, the RFID tagmay include data related to the latitude, longitude, and altitude wherethe object should be located. Thus, when the RFID reader reads andtransmits the latitude, longitude, and altitude where the object shouldbe located to the cloud network platform or the server, the cloudnetwork platform or the server can direct an operator or a robot toplace the object having an attached RFID tag in or at the correspondingplace.

The UHF RFID reader may be combined to the communication node bNode by auniversal serial bus (USB), a universal asynchronousreceiver/transmitter (UART), a serial peripheral interface bus (SPIBus), an inter-integrated circuit (I2C), or the like. For example, theUHF RFID reader may utilize a PR9200 UHF RFID Reader Chip—Phychips, aAS3993 UHF RFID Single Chip Reader EPC Classl—Ams, or RFID ReaderChips—Indy.

The above use of the RFID tag and the RFID reader may be realized in abusiness management field where the cloud network platform may helpobtain the location, the inventory level and/or operation parameters ofthe tools/goods, or may be realized in a home monitoring field where thecloud network platform may help monitor the location and physiologicalstates of the child, the aged, the pet.

Also, it should be noticed that the terminal device bTag further mayinclude or combine with a visible light communication (VLC) sensor tag,and the communication node bNode may include or combine with a VLCtransceiver. The VLC transceiver may be combined to the communicationnode bNode by a universal serial bus (USB), a universal asynchronousreceiver/transmitter (UART), a serial peripheral interface bus (SPIBus), an inter-integrated circuit (I2C), or the like. Once the at leastone communication node bNode read the VLC sensor tag, the at least onecommunication node bNode transmits the latitude, longitude, and altitudeof itself to the cloud network platform or a server by using thelocation-based network system 100, thus obtaining the location of theVLC sensor tag attached on the object, the person, or the animal. Ifthere are at least three communication nodes bNode read a same VLCsensor tag at the same time, the cloud network platform or the servercan accurately calculate the location of the VLC sensor tag by usingtriangulation technology.

On the other hand, the VLC sensor tag may be replaced by a camera of amobile phone, so that the location of the mobile phone can be calculatedby using triangulation technology, for example, based on the latitudes,longitudes and altitudes of communication nodes bNodes.

In this embodiment, the terminal device bTag may use a variety ofbatteries as the power source and perform data transmission andcommunicate with the communication nodes based on the Bluetoothprotocol, the Bluetooth low energy (BLE) protocol, the WIFI protocol,the Zigbee protocol, or the ANT+ protocol, for example. However, itshould be noted that the terminal device bTag is not limited to theabove. In other embodiments, the terminal device bTag may serve as arouter and be connected to the cloud network platform 40. The terminaldevice bTag performs data transmission and communicates with the cloudnetwork platform based on the worldwide interoperability for microwaveaccess (WIMAX) protocol, the long term evolution (LTE) protocol, theBluetooth low energy (BLE) protocol, or the WIFI protocol, for example.In other words, the wireless communication module in the terminal devicebTag may be an integrated wireless communication module adapted for avariety of protocols. In another embodiment of the present disclosure,the fixed-type terminal devices bTag, such as a home appliance or afixed sensing device on furniture, may serve as the communication nodebNode for improving the reliability of the location-based network system100.

FIG. 2A to FIG. 2E are schematic diagrams illustrating an operation of alocation-based network system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. A method for transmitting data in the location-based networksystem is explained below with reference to FIG. 2A to FIG. 2E. Withreference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A to FIG. 2E, in the embodiment, thelocation-based network system 100 transmits data packets from a terminaldevice bTag1 to a switch node bwRouter1 via communication nodesbNode1-bNode9. The communication nodes bNode1-bNode9 may be respectivelyoperated in one of the master mode and the slave mode. In thisembodiment, each of the communication nodes bNode1-bNode9 may include atleast a communication module and a processor. The processor isconfigured to switch the operation mode of the communication nodebetween the master mode and the slave mode. In this embodiment, theprocessor may be a central processing unit, a digital signal processor,a single chip, a microprogrammed control unit (MCU), or a system on achip (SOC). When the communication nodes (e.g., the communication nodesbNode2-bNode6 of FIG. 2A) operate in the master mode, the communicationnodes bNode2-bNode6 respectively monitor other communication nodes so asto receive the data packet from other communication nodes (e.g., thecommunication node bNode1 of FIG. 2A) that operates in the slave mode.In general, the communication node bNode usually operates in the mastermode so as to constantly monitor whether any data packet is to betransmitted. However, it should be noted that the present disclosure isnot limited to the above.

After the communication nodes bNode2-bNode6 receive the data packet fromthe communication node bNode1, the processor of each of thecommunication nodes bNode2-bNode6 further recognizes a destination nodeof the data packet. In FIG. 2A to FIG. 2E, the destination node of thedata packet is the switch node bwRouter1. Then, the processor of each ofthe communication nodes bNode2-bNode6 determines whether the operationmode should switch to the slave mode according to the actual distancebetween its communication node and the switch node bwRouter1, and theactual distance between the communication node bNode1 and the switchnode bwRouter1.

For example, the actual distance between the communication node bNode3and the switch node bwRouter1, the actual distance between thecommunication node bNode4 and the switch node bwRouter1, and the actualdistance between the communication node bNode5 and the switch nodebwRouter1 are all shorter than the actual distance between thecommunication node bNode1 and the switch node bwRouter1, so, as shown inFIG. 2B, the communication nodes bNode3, bNode4, and bNode5 switch tothe slave mode. When the communication nodes bNode3, bNode4, and bNode5operate in the slave mode, the communication nodes bNode3, bNode4, andbNode5 broadcast the data packet. On the other hand, the actual distancebetween the communication node bNode2 and the switch node bwRouter1, andthe actual distance between the communication node bNode6 and the switchnode bwRouter1 are longer than the actual distance between thecommunication node bNode1 and the switch node bwRouter1, so thecommunication nodes bNode2 and bNode6 continue to operate in the mastermode. Thus, the communication nodes bNode2 and bNode6 do not broadcastthe data packet. Then, as shown in FIG. 2C, after broadcasting the datapacket, the operation modes of the communication nodes bNode3, bNode4,and bNode5 switch back to the master mode and monitor othercommunication nodes.

Likewise, after the communication nodes bNode7-bNode9 receive the datapacket, the communication nodes bNode7-bNode9 further recognize thedestination node (i.e. the switch node bwRouter1) of the data packet.Then, the processor of each of the communication nodes bNode7-bNode9respectively determines whether the operation mode should switch to theslave mode according to the actual distance between its communicationmode and the switch node bwRouter1, and the actual distances between thecommunication nodes bNode3-bNode5 and the switch node bwRouter1.

As shown in FIG. 2C, because the actual distances between thecommunication nodes bNode7-bNode9 and the switch node bwRouter1 arerespectively shorter than the actual distances between the communicationnodes bNode3-bNode5 and the switch node bwRouter1, the communicationnodes bNode7-bNode9 respectively switch to the slave mode and broadcastthe data packet. Then, the data packets broadcasted by the communicationnodes bNode7-bNode9 are all received by the switch node bwRouter1. Thus,the data transmission is very reliable and efficient.

In this embodiment, the communication node bNode determines the actualdistance between the communication nodes bNode and the destination nodemainly according to the latitudes, longitudes, and heights of thecommunication node bNode and the destination node (e.g., the switch nodebwRouter1 of FIG. 2A). Take the embodiment of FIG. 2A for example, thecommunication node bNode4 calculates the actual distance between thecommunication node bNode1 and the switch node bwRouter1 and the actualdistance between the communication node bNode4 and the switch nodebwRouter1 according to the latitudes, longitudes, and altitude of thecommunication nodes bNode1 and bNode4 and the switch node bwRouter1 (thedestination node).

As described above, while the latitude, longitude, and the altitude ofthe communication node bNode is set up, the communication node bNoderecords the latitudes, longitudes, and altitudes of the neighboringcommunication nodes bNode and the switch nodes bwRouter and wGateway.However, it should be noticed that the latitudes, longitudes andaltitudes of the neighboring nodes may be recorded after thecommunication node performs hopping mechanism. Moreover, after receivingthe data packet from the other communication nodes bNode operating inthe slave mode, the communication node bNode operating in the mastermode may recognizes from the data packet the latitudes, longitudes,altitudes, media access control addresses (MAC addresses), and receivedsignal-strength indicator (RSSI) values of the latter. Take FIG. 2A asan example, after receiving the data packet from the communication nodebNode1, the communication node bNode4 may recognize the latitude,longitude, altitude, media access control address (MAC address), andreceived signal-strength indicator (RSSI) value of the communicationnode bNode1.

TABLE 1 Form of Data Packet Raw Data Communication Node Data SourceDelivery Data Broadcast Communication ID Delivery Time Location ContentTime Node Address (6 bytes) (4 bytes) (6 bytes) (5 bytes) (1 byte) (6bytes) MAC Hour H Longitude X Second S Longitude X address Minute MLatitude Y Latitude Y Second S Altitude/Height Z Altitude/Height ZMillisecond MS

Table 1 illustrates the form of the data packet according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. Generally, the data packetincludes two parts, a raw data part and a communication node data part.The raw data part further includes source ID, delivery time, deliverylocation, and data content. The source ID may be the MAC address of theterminal device or the switch node that initially broadcasts the datapacket. The delivery time is the transmission time of the data packet.The delivery location includes the latitude, longitude, and altitude ofthe terminal device or the switch node that initially broadcasts thedata packet. The data content is the data that the data packettransmits. For example, the data content can be the data sensed by theterminal devices. The communication node data part further includesbroadcast time and communication node address. The broadcast timerepresents the time that the data packet is broadcast by thecommunication node, and the communication node address refers to thelatitude, longitude, and altitude of the communication node thatbroadcasts the data packet. In this embodiment, the data in the datapacket may be in a form of binary, hexadecimal, or binary-coded decimal(BCD). It should be noted that the form of the data packet is notlimited to the above and may be varied according to the implementationof the location-based network system.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication node bNodemay include a routing table and a loop detection table. The routingtable is used to record the latitudes, longitudes, and altitudes of theneighboring switch nodes bwRouter and wGateway. The loop detection tableis used to record a recognition code of the received data packet and thelatitude, longitude, and altitude of the communication node thatbroadcasts the received data packet. Take FIG. 2A as an example, thecommunication node bNode4 is able to correctly determine whether itshould switch to the slave mode to broadcast the data packet based onthe assistance from the routing table and the loop detection table. Itshould be noted that the communication node bNode may utilize the loopdetection table to assisting in checking whether data packet has alreadybeen broadcasted. Take FIG. 2C as an example, when the communicationnode bNode4 switches back to the master mode and receives the datapacket from the communication nodes bNode7-bNode9 operating in the slavemode, the communication node bNode4 may choose to stop broadcasting thedata packet since the loop detection table has already recorded therecognition code of the data packet.

The recognition code of the data packet may include (1) the MAC addressof the terminal device or the switch node that initially broadcasts thedata packet, (2) the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the terminaldevice or the switch node that initially broadcasts the data packet, (3)the latitude, longitude, altitude of the communication node closest tothe terminal device that transmits the data packet, and/or (4) aninitially delivery time of the data packet. In this embodiment, therecognition code in the data packet of Table 1 is included in the sourceID or the delivery location under the raw data part.

It should be noted that the communication node bNode may not necessarilyinclude the routing table and the loop detection table. In otherembodiments of the present disclosure, the communication node bNode mayinclude only the routing table, or include neither of the routing tableand the loop detection table. In the case that the communication nodebNode does not include the routing table and the loop detection table,the form of the data packet is amended such that, when receiving thedata packet, the communication node bNode checks the received datapacket to assist in determining whether it should switch to the slavemode to broadcast the data packet.

With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C again, thelocation-based network system 100 may be able to further checks whetherthe data packet is successfully transmitted between the communicationnodes bNode. Take FIG. 2A to FIG. 2B for example, after thecommunication node bNode1 broadcasts the data packet, the communicationnode bNode1 switches from the slave mode back to the master mode andmonitors the other communication nodes. And, the communication nodebNode1 operating in the master mode also monitors the data packetbroadcast by the communication node bNode4 operating in the slave mode.Then, the communication node bNode1 receives the same data packet again.Because the data packet includes the recognition code, the communicationnode bNode1 easily recognizes that the data packet has been broadcastedand thus determines that the data packet is successfully received by thecommunication node bNode4.

The location-based network system 100 is able to further avoid a damagedcommunication node and keep performing data transmission properly. Asshown in FIG. 2D, if the communication node bNode4 is damaged and unableto receive data, the communication nodes bNode3 and bNode5 may assist inbroadcasting the data packet. Namely, the location-based network system100 has higher reliability.

With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2E, FIG. 2E further illustrates anoperation of another location-based network system 100. As shown in FIG.2E, if the communication nodes bNode3-bNode5 are all damaged, the datapacket broadcasted by the communication node bNode1 operating in theslave mode cannot be transmitted back from the communication nodesbNode3-bNode5 to the communication node bNode1 operating in the mastermode. If the communication node bNode1 still does not receive the datapacket after a waiting period, the communication node bNode1 switches tothe slave mode and broadcasts the data packet again. Furthermore, if thecommunication node bNode1 still does not receive the data packet againafter a confirmation period longer than the waiting period, thecommunication node bNode1 determines that the communication nodesbNode3-bNode5 are damaged, thus increasing the transmission power andswitching to the slave mode to broadcast the data packet again. Thus,the communication nodes bNode7-bNode9 operating in the master mode canreceive the data packet broadcasted by the communication node bNode1. Inaddition, in another embodiment, after the communication node bNode1increases the transmission power, the broadcast data packet may bereceived by the destination node (bwRouter1) directly. In yet anotherembodiment, if the communication node bNode1 further includes a lightemitting diode or other light sources therein, the communication nodebNode1 may activate a corresponding warning light to notify the user ofthe location-based network system 100 to repair the damagedcommunication nodes bNode3-bNode5.

FIG. 2A to FIG. 2E illustrate the embodiment of the location-basednetwork system 100 where the terminal device bTag1 transmits the datapacket to the switch node bwRouter1. However, it should be noted thatthe present disclosure is not limited to the above. An electronic deviceconnected to the cloud network platform 40 may also transmit the datapacket to the terminal device bTag via the location-based network system100 based on the transmission method depicted in FIG. 2A to FIG. 2E. Itshould be noted that the cloud network platform 40 may record thelatitudes, longitudes, and altitudes of all the switch nodes bwRouterand wGateway, the communication nodes bNode, and the terminal devicebTag in the initial set up of the location-based network system 100, sothat the data packet can be correctly transmitted to the destinationnode. However, the cloud network platform 40 may also record thelatitudes, longitudes, and altitudes of the switch nodes bwRouter andwGateway, the communication nodes bNode, and the terminal device bTag byreceiving the data packet transmitted from the location-based networksystem 100. In another embodiment, the cloud network platform 40 doesnot accurately record the latitude, longitude, and altitude of theterminal device bTag but records the latitude, longitude, and altitudeof the communication node bNode closest to the terminal device bTag, soas to position the terminal device bTag. In yet another embodiment, theterminal device bTag obtains the latitudes, longitudes, and altitudes ofseveral communication nodes bNode closest to the terminal device bTagand accordingly calculates the location of the terminal device bTagbased on triangulation technology and then uploads a calculation resultthereof to the cloud network platform 40.

It should be noted that the data transmission method described in theabove embodiment is also applicable to a network architecture composedof the communication node wNode, the terminal device wTag, the switchnodes bwRouter or wRouter and wGateway, and the cloud network platform40. In other words, the latitudes, longitudes, and altitudes of thecommunication node wNode, the terminal device wTag, and the switch nodesbwRouter and wGateway are also used for determining and deciding thetransmission path of the data packet.

In addition, after the transmission path is determined by using theabove method, the communication node or the terminal device which is asource node, and the switch node which is the destination node of thedata packet can further store all the transmission path of the datapacket and assign the priority of each transmission path according to asequence the data packet arrived at the destination node. In otherwords, if the data packet transmitted by a first transmission patharrives first, the first transmission path will be assigned a highestpriority. If the data packet transmitted by a third transmission patharrives second, the third transmission path will be assigned a secondhighest priority. During the transmission of a data packet between thesource node and the destination node, the transmission path having thehighest priority will be selected to transmit the data packet. If thetransmission path having the highest priority is congested, thetransmission path having the second highest priority will be selected.Thus, data packets can be transmitted quickly and accurately.

FIG. 3A to FIG. 3G are schematic diagrams illustrating an operation of alocation-based network system according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present disclosure. In the exemplary embodiment shown as FIG. 3A toFIG. 3G, the location-based network system 100 includes a number ofcommunication nodes bNode11-bNode 17 and a switch node bwRouter2. Thecommunication nodes bNode11-bNode17 may be street lamps arranged alongat least one side of a street or a bridge shown in FIG. 6, for example.The switch node bwRouter2 may be arranged at one end of the street orthe bridge, and the street lamps and the switch node can form a systemof Internet of Things (IoT). In an alternative embodiment, thelocation-based system 100 may further include two switch nodes bwRouter2(not shown), the two switch nodes bwRouter2 can be arranged at two endsof the street or the bridge. In other embodiments, the switch nodebwRouter2 may be arranged in the middle of the street or the bridge.Each of the communication nodes bNode11-bNode17 may include a processorand a Bluetooth module for communicating with the other communicationnodes and the switch node bwRouter2. The communication nodes (e.g.,street lamps) can be operated in one of a master mode and a slave mode.

In this exemplary embodiment, in an initial state, each of thecommunication nodes is in the master mode, as shown in FIG. 3A. Theprocessor in each of communication nodes may acquire environmentparameters from at least one sensor which may be mounted on the streetlamp. In this embodiment, the sensor is configured to monitor theenvironment parameters, for example the humidity of the air, pollutantlevels, the environmental noise, the environment luminance, a trafficflow. Accordingly, the sensor can be a hygrometer for monitoring thehumidity of the air, an air quality monitor for monitoring pollutantlevels, a noisemeter or a microphone for monitoring the environmentalnoise, a luminance meter for monitoring the environment luminance, atraffic detector for monitoring a traffic flow, and other sensors thatmonitors the environment. The processor further compares the acquiredenvironment parameters with historical environment parameters todetermine whether the environment is abnormal. If the processor of thecommunication node bNode12 determines that the environment is abnormal,the processor of the communication node bNode12 generates a data packetincluding the acquired environment parameters and indicating theabnormal condition. The processor of the communication node bNode12 alsoswitches the communication node bNode12 to the slave mode, as shown inFIG. 3B, and broadcasts the data packet, as shown in FIG. 3C. If thecommunication nodes bNode11 and bNode13-bNode15 receive the data packet,the communication node bNode11 and bNode13-bNode15 respectivelyrecognize a destination node of the data packet. In this embodiment, thedestination node of the data packet is the switch node bwRouter2.Meanwhile, each of the communication nodes bNode11 and bNode13-bNode15determines whether it should switch to the slave mode according to theactual distances between it and the switch node bwRouter2 and an actualdistance between the communication node bNode12 and the switch nodebwRouter2.

In this embodiment, the actual distance between the communication nodebNode13 and the switch node bwRouter2, the actual distance between thecommunication node bNode14 and the switch node bwRouter2, and the actualdistance between the communication node bNode15 and the switch nodebwRouter2 are shorter than the actual distance between the communicationnode bNode12 and the switch node bwRouter2. On the other hand, theactual distance between the communication node bNode11 and the switchnode bwRouter2 is longer than the actual distance between thecommunication node bNode12 and the switch node bwRouter2. Thus, as shownin FIG. 3D, the communication nodes bNode13-bNode15 switch to the slavemode, and the communication node bNode12 stays or switches to the mastermode. As shown in FIG. 3E, when operating in the slave mode, thecommunication nodes bNode13-bNode15 respectively broadcast the datapacket. Then, the communication nodes bNode11-bNode12, bNode16-bNode17,and the switch node bwRouter2 may receive the data packet. Likewise,after receiving the data packet, each of the communication nodesbNode11-bNode12 and bNode16-bNode17 further recognizes the destinationnode (i.e., the switch node bwRouter2) of the data packet, and determinewhether it should switch to the slave mode and broadcast the data packetaccording to the actual distances between it and the switch nodebwRouter2 and the actual distances between the communication nodesbNode13-bNode15 and the switch node bwRouter2. Then, as shown in FIG.3F, the communication nodes bNode13-bNode15 switch to the master mod,and the communication nodes bNode16-bNode17 switch to the slave mode andbroadcast the data packet to the bwRouter2. Afterwards, as shown in FIG.3G, the communication nodes bNode16-bNode17 switch to the master mode.In this exemplary embodiment, although the switch node bwRouter2 hasreceived the data packet from the bNode15, the communication nodesbNode16-bNode17 also broadcast the data packet to the switch nodebwRouter2 to increase the reliability of the data transmission, andavoid transmission failure.

Thus, the switch node bwRouter2 may receive the abnormal environmentparameters rapidly and reliably. Furthermore, the switch node bwRouter2may further transmit the abnormal environment parameters to the cloudnetwork platform 40, and thus related personnel may monitor theenvironment continuously and/or in real time, and a smart city may beconstructed. It should be noted that the operation described in theabove embodiment is not limited thereto. The communication nodesbNode11-bNode17 may further monitor the terminal devices bTag nearby andreceive information from terminal devices bTag (e.g., mobile phone,smart band, unmanned aerial vehicle, and unmanned ground vehicle) whichis close to the communication nodes bNode11-bNode17. The acquiredinformation may be a request input by a user for searching a location ofa store, a company, a scenic spot, a taxi, and the like. The acquiredinformation may further be incorporated into location information,business information, multimedia information and other informationshared by the user having the terminal device bTag or wTag. Thus, theuser is able to use the location-based network system 100 to acquire andshare information instead of using the Internet.

In the alternative embodiment, a source communication node (i.e. thecommunication node bNode12) that originally broadcasts the data packetfirstly determines which switch node bwRouter2 is closer according tothe latitude, longitude, and altitude of the two switch nodes bwRouter2and the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the communication nodebNode12, and determines the closer switch node bwRouter2 of the twoswitch nodes bwRouter2 will be the destination node. Then, the sourcecommunication node bNode12 transmits the data packet to the destinationnode (the closer switch node bwRouter2) by using the method as describedabove. By using the two switch nodes bwRouter2, the transmission speedcan be increased. On the other hand, if one of the two switch nodebwRouter2 is broken, the communication nodes bNode11-15 still cantransmit the data packet to the other switch node bwRouter2.Furthermore, if one of the communication node (i.e. the communicationnode bNode15) determines that the destination node (the closer switchnode bwRouter2) is broken, the communication node bNode15 can furthergenerate an alert message and transmit the alert message to the otherswitch node bwRouter2 or the cloud network platform 40 via thecommunication nodes in the location-based network system 100, informingthe broken switch node bwRouter2. In this embodiment, if thecommunication node bNode15 determines that the switch node bwRouter2cannot receive the data packet for a predetermined number of times, suchas 3 times, the communication node bNode15 determines that the switchnode bwRouter2 is broken. In this embodiment, the alert message at leastincludes the longitude, the latitude, and the altitude of the brokenswitch node bwRouter2.

FIG. 4A to FIG. 4H are schematic diagrams illustrating an operation of alocation-based network system according to another embodiment of thepresent disclosure. In this embodiment, the location-based network 100includes a switch node bwRouter3 and a number of communication nodesbNode21-bNode26, bNode31-bNode36, bNode41-bNode46, and bNode51-56arranged two-dimensionally. In this exemplary embodiment, thecommunication nodes may be street lamps arranged along multiple streets.For example, the communication nodes bNode21-bNode26 may be arrangedalong a first street, the communication nodes bNode31-bNode36 may bearranged along a second street, the communication nodes bNode41-bNode46may be arranged along a third street, and the communication nodesbNode51-bNode 56 may be arranged along a fourth street. Each of thestreet lamp can monitor the environment parameters to detect abnormalconditions of the environment. Each of the communication nodes canoperate in one of a master mode and a slave mode.

In this exemplary embodiment, in an initial state, each of thecommunication nodes is in the master mode, as shown in FIG. 4A. If bothof the communication node bNode32 and the communication node bNode42detect an abnormal condition in the environment, the communication nodesbNode32 and bNode42 respectively generate a data packet indicating theabnormal condition. Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, each of the communicationnodes bNode32 and bNode42 switches to the slave mode and broadcasts thedata packet. Then, as shown in FIG. 4C, the communication nodesbNode21-bNode23, bNode31, and bNode33-34 may receive the data packetfrom the communication node bNode32. The communication nodes bNode41,bNode43 and bNode52 may receive the data packet from the communicationnode bNode42.

In this embodiment, if a communication node, such as the communicationnode bNode43, detects two or more data packets from differentcommunication nodes at the same time, the communication node can comparethe actual distances to each of the communication nodes broadcast thedata packets and receive the data packet broadcasted by the nearestcommunication node. However, it should be noticed that the communicationnode may receive all detected data packets at the same time.

After receiving the data packet, each of the communication nodesbNode21-bNode23, bNode31, and bNode33-bNode34 recognizes the destinationnode of the data packet (i.e., the switch node bwRouter3) and determineswhether it should switch to the slave mode according to the actualdistances between it and the switch node bwRouter3 and an actualdistance between the communication node bNode32 and the switch nodebwRouter3. In this embodiment, the distance between the communicationnode bNode33 and the switch node bwRouter3 and the distance between thecommunication node bNode34 and the switch node bwRouter3 are shorterthan the distance between the communication node bNode32 and the switchnode bwRouter3. Thus, the communication nodes bNode33 and bNode34switches to the slave mode and broadcast the data packet received fromthe communication node bNode32, as shown in FIG. 4D, and thecommunication node bNode32 switches to the master mode. Also, afterreceiving the data packet from the communication node bNode42, each ofthe communication node bNode41, bNode43 and bNode52 recognizes thedestination node of the data packet (i.e., the switch node bwRouter3)and determine whether it should switch to the slave node according tothe actual distance between it and the switch node bwRouter3 and anactual distance between the communication node bNode42 and the switchnode bwRouter3. For example, the actual distance between thecommunication node bNode43 and the switch node bwRouter3 is shorter thanthe actual distance between the communication node bNode42 and theswitch node bwRouter3, and thus the communication node bNode43 switchesto the slave mode and broadcasts the data packet received from thecommunication node bNode42, as shown in FIG. 4D, and the communicationnode bNode42 switches to the master mode.

By such analogy, as shown in FIG. 4E to FIG. 4H, the data packets willbe transmitted to the switch node bwRouter3 via the communication nodes.Thus, the bwRouter3 can detect all the abnormal conditions of theenvironment via the location based network system 100.

It should be noticed that the communication nodes may be arrangedthree-dimensionally (e.g., different floors of a building). The datapackets can be transmitted to the switch node bwRouter via thecommunication nodes bNode and/or wNode arranged in a three-dimensionalspace by using the above method. In at least one embodiment, a routingmap may be formed according to a Google™ map or a 3D model of theenvironment.

It should be noticed that, during the data transmission, a specificallyset data transmission path is not required among the communication nodesin the location-based network system, and the data packet can beaccurately transmitted to the correct destination node by theaforementioned hopping. In addition, by utilizing the broadcastmechanism, the data packet is able to be simultaneously received bymultiple communication nodes and each of the communication nodes is ableto assessing whether it should forward the received data packet. Thus,the reliability of data transmission is improved. Furthermore, thecommunication nodes, the terminal devices and the switch nodes can forman intranet, decreasing the risk generated from the Internet.

Also, it should be noted that the location-based network systemincluding the communication nodes may perform data transmissionaccording to a set connection path and is not restricted to hopping bybroadcasting. Thus, the location-based network system is more flexibleand convenient to use. The location-based system shown in FIG. 5A toFIG. 5G can be taken as an example to illustrate the location-basednetwork system that perform data transmission according to the setconnection path.

With reference to FIG. 5A to FIG. 5G, the location-based network system100 includes a number of communication nodes bNode61-bNode67 and atleast one switch node bwRouter4. The communication nodes bNode61-bNode67may be street lamps arranged along at least one side of a street or abridge, as shown in FIG. 6, and the switch node bwRouter4 can bearranged at one of two ends of the street or the bridge. In analternative embodiment, the location-based system 100 may include twoswitch nodes bwRouter4 arranged at two ends of the street or the bridge.The street lamps and the switch node may form a system of Internet ofThings (IoT). Each of the communication nodes bNode61-bNode67 mayinclude a processor and a Bluetooth module for communicating with theother communication nodes and the switch node bwRouter4. Each of thecommunication nodes bNode61-bNode67 may operate in one of a master modeand a slave mode.

In this embodiment, in an initial state, each of the communication nodebNode61-bNode67 is in the slave mode, as shown in FIG. 5A. When anterminal device bTag1 (such as a mobile phone, a SmartBand, an unmannedground vehicle, or an unmanned aerial vehicle) is close to one of thecommunication nodes (i.e., the communication node bNode62) and send andata packet, the communication node bNode62 switches to the master modeand receives the data packet, as shown in FIG. 5B. In this embodiment,the data packet sent by the terminal device bTag1 can include a requestinput by a user via an application installed in the terminal devicebTag1, the request input for searching a location of a lavatory, astore, an office, a company, a scenic spot, and other locations that theusers desired to know. The data packet sent by the terminal device bTag1can further include a variety of information, such as locationinformation of the terminal device bTag1 itself, business information,information a user shares in an application installed in the terminaldevice bTag1, or the like.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5C, the communication node bNode62 detects theneighboring communication nodes (i.e., the communication nodes bNode61,bNode 63, bNode64 and bNode65). Then the communication node bNode62calculates the actual distance between the detected communication nodes(i.e., the communication node bNode61, bNode63, bNode64 and bNode65) andthe switch node bwRouter4, according to the latitude, the longitude, andthe altitude of the detected communication nodes and the latitude, thelongitude, and the altitude of the switch node bwRouter4. Thecommunication node bNode62 further selects a communication node which isnearest to the switch node bwRouter4 to connect to according to thecalculated actual distance. As shown in FIG. 5D, for example, the actualdistance between the communication node bNode65 and the switch nodebwRouter3 is the shortest, so the communication node bNode62 connects tothe communication node bNode65 and transmits the data packet to thecommunication node bNode65. Afterwards, the communication node bNode62switches back to the slave mode.

In FIG. 5E, the communication node bNode65 switches to the master modeafter receiving the data packet from the communication node bNode62.Then, in FIG. 5F, the communication node bNode65 repeats the datatransmission method shown in FIG. 5C to FIG. 5D, and the destinationnode (switch node bwRouter3) is detected by the communication nodebNode65, and thus the communication node bNode65 directly connects tothe switch node bwRouter4 and transmits the data packet to the switchnode bwRouter4. Thus, the switch node bwRouter4 can obtain theinformation from the terminal device bTag1.

The switch node bwRouter4 can further transmit the data packet to thecloud network platform, and thus the cloud network platform can transmitthe data packet to other users who requires the data packet, or reply tothe terminal device bTag1 corresponding information in response to thedata packet. For example, if the data packet sent by the terminal devicebTag1 includes a request input by the user for searching a location of ascenic spot, the cloud network platform can send back a data packetincluding a map of the scenic spot to the terminal device bTag1; if thedata packet sent by the terminal device bTag1 includes information theuser shared in an application installed in the terminal device bTag1,the cloud network platform can share the information to other users viathe location-based network systems connected to the cloud networkplatform, and thus other people can obtain the shared information.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example related tounmanned aerial vehicles in the location-based network system of FIG.1-5G. The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be used as part of thecommunication nodes, and each of UAVs can include a first wirelesscommunication module, a second wireless communication module, and aprocessor. The UAV can operate in two modes as shown in FIG. 1-5G.Referring to FIG. 2, for example, the UAVs can be the communicationnodes locating at places which are hard to reach, and have sensorsactivating the UAVs from the master mode to the slave mode to broadcastthe data packet, extending the location-based network system, a meshnetwork. Referring to FIG. 5, for example, the UAVs can be the terminaldevices bTag continuously monitoring environment and uploading data in aspecific area automatically. The UAVs can have predetermined thresholdsfor abnormal signals to activate the UAVs so as to pair a closecommunication node and upload the data packet indicating the abnormalcondition. Then, the connected communication node integrated with thestreetlight, denoted as bNode in FIG. 6 is triggered from the slave modeto the master mode to transmit the data packet, making the mesh networkmore flexible. The data packet sent by the UAV can further includeinformation of videos, audios, and pictures taken by the UAV. Inaddition, the terminal device bTag (UAV) can further include actuators.For example, the sensor can be a smoke detector or a fog detector andthe actuator can be a fire alarm or a high luminance LED. It should benoticed that the UAVs can return to a stationary hub close to the ownerfor recharging or maintenance.

FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C are schematic diagrams illustrating an operation of alocation-based network system according to a second embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C, the location-based network system100 transmits the data packet from the terminal device wTag1 to theswitch node (e.g., bwRouter1 or wRouter1) via communication nodeswNode1-wNode9. Referring to FIG. 7A, after receiving the data packetfrom the terminal device wTag1, the communication node wNode1 transmitsa connection acquire signal CAq to the neighboring communication nodeswNode2-wNode6. In this embodiment, the connection acquire signal CAq atleast include the MAC address of the communication node wNode1, thelatitude, longitude, and altitude of the communication node wNode1 whichsends the connection acquire signal CAq.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, the available communication nodes (e.g.,communication nodes wNode2-wNode5) respectively send back a connectionacknowledgement signal CAk to the communication node wNode1. Each of theconnection acknowledgement signals CAk includes the latitude, longitude,and altitude of each of the communication nodes (e.g., wNode2-wNode5).The communication node wNode6 lost the data packet and thus does notreturn the connection acknowledgement signal, and other communicationnodes still transmit the data packet. Then, as shown in FIG. 7C,communication node wNode1 calculates the actual distances between eachof the communication nodes wNode2-wNode5 and the switch node (e.g.,bwRouter1 or wRouter1) according to the latitude, longitude, andaltitude of each of the communication nodes wNode2-wNode5 and the switchnode (e.g., bwRouter1 or wRouter1), so as to select one of thecommunication nodes wNode2-wNode5 based on the actual distances. In FIG.7C, the actual distance between the communication node wNode4 and theswitch node the switch node the switch node (e.g., bwRouter1 orwRouter1) is the shortest, so the communication node wNode1 connects tothe communication node wNode4 and transmits the data packet to thecommunication node wNode4.

By repeating the data transmission method shown in FIG. 7A-FIG. 7C, thedata packet is transmitted from the terminal device wTag1 to the switchnode (e.g. bwRouter1 or wRouter1) quickly and accurately. Detailedoperation and setting of the location-based network system 100 have beenspecified in the previous description and thus are not repeatedhereinafter.

It should be noticed that, in FIG. 7A-FIG. 7C, the switch node may bewGatewayl and the communication nodes may be replaced by the switch nodebwRouter1 or wRouter1, and the data packet is still be able to transmitto a destination node based on the data transmission method shown in theabove.

In this embodiment, if the data packet is successfully transmitted tothe destination node, the destination node (i.e., the switch nodewGatewayl) can obtain the routing path and transmit the routing path tothe source node (i.e., the terminal device wTag1). The routing path caninclude all the communication nodes which are selected to transmit thedata packet. The source node stores the routing path, and utilizes thestored routing path to transmit data packets when the source node needsto transmit data packet to the same destination node next time.

In this embodiment, if a communication node (i.e., wNode1) which sendsthe data packet determines that the available communication node wNode5which is closest to the switch node (e.g., bwRouter1 or wRouter1) iscongested, the communication node wNode1 select the communication node(i.e., the communication node wNode4) which is the second closest to theswitch node bwRouter1 to transmit the data packet, thus balancing dataflow in the location-based network system. In this embodiment, thecommunication node wNode1 determine whether the communication nodewNode5 is congested according to a delay time of the connectionacknowledge signal transmitted by the wNode5. For example, if the delaytime of the connection acknowledge signal sent by the communication nodewNode5 is more than a predetermined time interval, such as one second,the communication node wNode1 determines that the communication nodewNode5 is congested. It should be noticed that new communication nodescan be added to ease the congestion if some of the communication nodesis congested. Also, an unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be used as acommunication node or a terminal device in FIG. 7A-FIG. 7C.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a location-based networksystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Alocation-based network system 200 of FIG. 8 is different from thelocation-based network system 100 of FIG. 1 in that the communicationnodes bNode and wNode are replaced by a communication node group NodeGin the location-based network system 200. The communication node groupNodeG includes a first sub-communication node NodeGa operating in themaster mode and a second sub-communication node NodeGb operating in theslave mode. The switch node bwRouter and at least one terminal devicebTag receive or transmit the data packet through the communication nodegroup NodeG.

Apparently, the communication node group NodeG of the location-basednetwork system 200 does not require switching between the master modeand the slave mode. When the first sub-communication node NodeGaoperating in the master mode receives the data packet, the firstsub-communication node NodeGa transmits the data packet to the secondsub-communication node NodeGb operating in the slave mode through a UARTor SPI or I2C and changes to broadcast the data packet via the secondsub-communication node NodeGb. In this embodiment, the communicationnode group NodeG at least includes a first wireless communicationmodule, a second wireless communication module, and a processor.Compared with the location-based network system 100 of FIG. 1, thelocation-based network system 200 provides higher data transmissionspeed.

In addition, through improvement of hardware, software and/or firmware,the communication node group NodeG can be realized into a singlecommunication node which can simultaneously operate in the master modeand the slave mode, or operate in a master-slave coexistence mode. Inother words, a single communication node can achieve the operations ofthe master mode and the slave mode simultaneously, such that thecommunication node does not need to switch between the master mode andthe slave mode. More specifically, by implementing a dual-mode chip in ahardware structure (e.g., a wireless communication module) of thecommunication node, the communication node can perform such operationfor different protocols, realizing coexistence of the master mode andthe slave mode in a single communication node. Therefore, thetransmission speed of the data packet is improved significantly.

Detailed operation and setting of the location-based network system 200have been specified in the embodiment of the location-based networksystem 100 and thus are not repeated hereinafter.

It should be noted that, in another embodiment, the switch node bwRouteris replaced by a switch node group (not illustrated). The switch nodegroup includes at least two sub-switch node groups, and each of thesub-switch node groups includes a first sub-switch node operating in themaster mode and a second sub-switch node operating in the slave mode.For example, when the switch node group includes three sub-switch nodegroups, the first sub-switch nodes of the three sub-switch node groupsmonitor three different channels respectively. Therefore, thecommunication nodes bNode in the location-based network system 100 or200 are capable of selecting different channels to broadcast the datapacket, avoiding transmitting the data packet to the switch node groupvia the same channel, the case that may lower the data transmissionspeed.

For the location-based network system 100 or 200 located in a placewhere crowds congregate, adding new terminal devices, switch nodes, orcommunication nodes is simple and easy, as long as the latitudes,longitudes, and altitudes of the terminal devices, the switch nodes, orthe communication nodes are set correctly. In addition, if thedestination node of the data packets from different terminal devices isthe same, the communication node can combine the data packets from thedifferent terminal devices into an integrated data packet, and transmitthe integrated data packet to the destination node, thus increasingtransmission efficiency.

In at least one embodiment, the terminal device wTag, the communicationnode wNode or the switch node bwRouter, wRouter or wGateway can furtheridentify every possible data transmission route from a source node to adestination node, for example by using the method as described in FIGS.5A-5E, and store each of the possible data transmission route to arouting table. The terminal device wTag, the communication node wNode orthe switch node bwRouter/wRouter/wGateway further identify a totalnumber of intermediate nodes from the source node to the destinationnode, and calculate the length of each possible data transmission routefrom the source node to the destination node. Then, the terminal devicewTag, the communication node wNode or the switch nodebwRouter/wRouter/wGateway assigns the priority to each data transmissionroute according to the total number of the intermediate nodes and thelength of the data transmission routes. For example, the priority of thedata transmission routes can be calculated according to the followingformulation:

${X_{i} = {{\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{n}L_{i}} + {T\mspace{14mu}\ldots}}}\mspace{14mu},$wherein X is the priority of the data transmission route, n is the totalnumber of intermediate nodes, L is the length of the data transmissionroute from the source node to the destination node, i=0, 1, 2, 3 . . . ,T is the process time for intermediate nodes. So, the terminal devicewTag, the communication node wNode or the switch node bwRouter, wRouteror wGateway can transmit data packets based on the priority of the datatransmission routes. If the data transmission route having the highestpriority is congested or broken, the data transmission route having thesecond highest priority will be chosen for transmission.

In an alternative embodiment, if all the possible data transmissionroute are determined (e.g., by using the method as described in FIG.2A-2E), the source node (e.g., the communication node wNode, bNode orthe terminal device wTag, bTag), and the destination node (e.g., theswitch nodes bwRouter, wRouter or wGateway) can further calculate thedistance between each intermediate nodes according to the longitudes,latitudes, and altitudes of the intermediate nodes, and calculate atotal length of each data transmission route by adding up the distancesbetween the intermediate nodes. Then, the source node or the destinationnode select a shortest data transmission route as the best route totransmit the data packets by utilizing a vector-basedminimum-included-angle method including the following steps: generatinga first vector from the source node to the destination node; generatinga second vector from the source node to each of the intermediate nodesthat is within a effective communication range of the source node;selecting a second vector having a minimum angle with the first vector,and determining the intermediate node forming the selected second vectorwith the source node as the best intermediate node to transmit a datapacket received from the source node. It should be noticed that theintermediate node receiving the data packet can be regarded as a newsource node after receiving the data packet from the original sourcenode. By repeating the above steps to transmit the data packet from nodeto node, a best data transmission route can be determined by connectingall the best intermediate nodes. It should be noticed that thecommunication node can be replaced by the switch node, such as bwRouteror wRouter, to achieve best data transmission route.

In should be noticed that a location-based network system can beimplemented based on the combination of the embodiments in FIG. 1 toFIG. 8, and a data transmission route will vary based on theimplementation of the location-based network system having multiplemeshed with different type. For example, the data packet can betransmitted in the following combined route: (1) from bTag to bNode; (2)from bNode to bwRouter; (3) from bwRouter to wNode; (4) from wNode towRouter; and (5) from wRouter to wGateway. For another example, the datapacket can be transmitted in the following combined route: (1) from bTagto bwRouter; (2) from bwRouter to another bwRouter; (3) from anotherbwRouter to wGateway. Also, the bwRouter can be replace by a bNodehaving an IP address, so the data packet can be transmitted in thefollowing combined route: (1) from bTag to bNode; (2) from bNode toanother bNode having an IP address; (3) from another bNode having an IPaddress to wRouter; and (5) from wRouter to wGateway. It should be notedthat the data transmission path described in the above is not limitedthereto.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a location-based communication methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method isprovided by way of example, as there are a variety of ways to carry outthe method. The method described below can be carried out using theconfigurations illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4H, for example, andvarious elements of these figures are referenced in explaining theexample method. Each block shown in FIG. 9 represents one or moreprocesses, methods, or subroutines carried out in the examplary method.Additionally, the illustrated order of blocks is by example only and theorder of the blocks can be changed. The examplary method begins at block901.

At block 901, a first communication node that operates in the mastermode monitors a second communication node that operate in the slave modein order to receive a data packet broadcasted by the secondcommunication node.

At block 902, the first communication node recognizes a destination nodeof the data packet after receiving the data packet broadcasted by thesecond communication node that operates in the slave mode.

At block 903, the first communication node determines whether a firstdistance between the first communication node and the destination nodeis shorter than a second distance between the second communication nodeand the destination node according to the latitude, longitude, andaltitude of each of the first communication node, the secondcommunication node and the destination node. If no, the procedure goesto block 904; if yes, the procedure goes to block 905.

At block 904, the first communication node continues to operate in themaster mode and does not broadcast the data packet.

At block 905, the first communication node switches to the slave nodeand broadcast the data packet received from the second communicationnode.

At block 906, the first communication node switches to the master modeafter broadcasting the data packet received from the secondcommunication node.

After the block 906, the method can further include a block 907: thefirst communication node monitors the data packet broadcasted by thesecond communication node that operate in the slave mode, so as todetermine whether the data packet broadcasted by the first communicationnode is successfully received by the second communication node accordingto a recognition code of the data packet. If yes, the procedure goesback to block 901, if not, the procedure goes to block 908.

At block 908, the first communication node switches to the slave modeand broadcasts the data packet again.

At block 909, the first communication node increases the transmissionpower to broadcast the data packet after a confirmation period longerthan a waiting period.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a location-based communicationmethod according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. Themethod is provided by way of example, as there are a variety of ways tocarry out the method. The method described below can be carried outusing the configurations illustrated in FIG. 5A-5G, for example, andvarious elements of these figures are referenced in explaining theexamplary method. Each block shown in FIG. 10 represents one or moreprocesses, methods, or subroutines carried out in the examplary method.Additionally, the illustrated order of blocks is by example only and theorder of the blocks can be changed. The example method begins at block1001. In this method, each communication node of the network system, inwhich the location-based communication method is applied, is operated ina slave mode in an initial state.

At block 1001, a first communication node that operates in the slavemode switches to the master mode to transmit a data packet.

At block 1002, the first communication node detects neighboringcommunication nodes and calculates a distance between each of theneighboring communication nodes and a destination node according to thelatitude, longitude, and altitude of each of the communication nodes andthe destination node.

At block 1003, the first communication node selects a communication nodenearest to the destination node to connect to.

At block 1004, the first communication node transmits the data packet tothe communication node nearest to the destination node.

At block 1005, the first communication node switches to the slave mode.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a location-based communicationmethod according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. Themethod is provided by way of example, as there are a variety of ways tocarry out the method. The method described below can be carried outusing the configurations illustrated in FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C, for example,and various elements of these figures are referenced in explaining theexample method. Each block shown in FIG. 11 represents one or moreprocesses, methods, or subroutines carried out in the examplary method.Additionally, the illustrated order of blocks is by example only and theorder of the blocks can be changed. The examplary location-basedcommunication method begins at block 1101.

At block 1101, a first communication node transmits a connection acquiresignal to the neighboring communication nodes for transmitting a datapacket, the connection acquire signal including the latitude, longitude,and altitude of the first communication node.

At block 1102, the first communication node receives connectionacknowledgement signals from available neighboring communication nodes,each of the connection acknowledgement signals including the latitude,longitude, and altitude of the corresponding available neighboringcommunication node.

At block 1103, the first communication node calculates a distancebetween each of the available neighboring communication nodes and thedestination node according to the latitude, longitude, and altitude ofeach of the available neighboring communication node and the destinationnode.

At block 1104, the first communication node selects an availableneighboring communication node nearest to the destination node toconnect to, and transmits the data packet to the available neighboringcommunication node nearest to the destination node.

After the data packet is successfully transmitted to the destinationnode, the method can further include one or more of the featuresexplained below.

At block 1105, the first communication node receives a routing pathtransmitted by the destination node, the routing path including all thecommunication nodes selected to transmit the data packet.

At block 1106, the first communication node stores the routing path anduses the stored routing path for transmitting other data packet to thesame destination node.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a location-based communicationmethod according to a forth embodiment of the present disclosure. Themethod is provided by way of example, as there are a variety of ways tocarry out the method. The method described below can be carried outusing the configurations illustrated in FIG. 1 or FIGS. 5A-5E, forexample, and various elements of these figures are referenced inexplaining the examplary method. Each block shown in FIG. 12 representsone or more processes, methods, or subroutines carried out in theexamplary method. Additionally, the illustrated order of blocks is byexample only and the order of the blocks can be changed. The examplarymethod begins at block 1201.

At block 1201, a terminal device, a communication node, or a switch nodeidentifies every possible data transmission route from a source node toa destination node.

At block 1202, the terminal device, the communication node, or theswitch node stores each of the possible data transmission route to arouting table.

At block 1203, the terminal device, the communication node, or theswitch node identifies a total number of intermediate nodes from thesource node to the destination node and calculates the length of eachpossible data transmission route from the source node to the destinationnode.

At block 1204, the terminal device, the communication node, or theswitch node assigns a priority for each data transmission routeaccording to the total number of the intermediate nodes and the lengthof the data transmission routes. It should be noticed that the priorityof the data transmission routes can be calculated according to thefollowing formulation:

${X_{i} = {{\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{n}L_{i}} + {T\mspace{14mu}\ldots}}}\mspace{14mu},$wherein X is the priority of the data transmission route, n is the totalnumber of intermediate nodes, L is the length of the data transmissionroute from the source node to the destination node, i=0, 1, 2, 3 . . . ,and T is the process time for intermediate nodes.

At block 1205, the terminal device, the communication node, or theswitch node transmits data packets based on the data transmission routehaving the highest priority.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodimentswithout departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure. Inview of the foregoing, it is intended that the present disclosure coversmodifications and variations provided that they fall within the scope ofthe following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A location-based network system, comprising: aplurality of first communication nodes, each of the first communicationnodes is installed at a fixed geographic location and comprising atleast one communication module and a processor, wherein a longitude, alatitude and an altitude of each first communication node are fixed andrecorded in the corresponding first communication node during aninstallation process of installing the first communication node at thefixed geographic location; a second communication node installed at afixed geographic location and comprising at least one communicationmodule and a processor, wherein the second communication node isconfigured to broadcast a data packet for transmitting the data packetto a destination node which is different from the first communicationnodes without establishing any routing table, wherein the data packetbroadcasted by the second communication node comprises a longitude, alatitude and an altitude of the second communication node and a datacontent, the first communication nodes and the second communication nodeare arranged three-dimensionally; wherein each first communication nodeis configured to: receive, by the communication module, the data packetbroadcasted by the second communication node; recognize, by theprocessor, the destination node of the data packet after receiving thedata packet broadcasted by the second communication node; determine, bythe processor, whether a first distance between the first communicationnode and the destination node is shorter than a second distance betweenthe second communication node and the destination node according to thelatitude, the longitude, and the altitude of the first communicationnode fixed and recorded in the first communication node during theinstallation process, the latitude, longitude, and altitude of thesecond communication node comprised in the data packet, and thedestination node; and broadcast, by the communication module, the datapacket received from the second communication node when it is determinedby the processor that the first distance is shorter than the seconddistance, wherein the data packet broadcasted by the first communicationnode comprises the longitude, the latitude and the altitude of the firstcommunication node fixed and recorded in the first communication nodeduring the installation process.
 2. The location-based network systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the location-based network system furthercomprises a switch node and a terminal device communicating via thecommunication nodes.
 3. The location-based network system according toclaim 2, wherein the switch node is further connected to a cloud networkplatform and uploads the received data packet to the cloud networkplatform or receives another data packet from the cloud networkplatform.
 4. The location-based network system according to claim 2,wherein the terminal device has the function of RFID or visible lightcommunication.
 5. The location-based network system according to claim2, wherein the terminal device is an unmanned aerial vehicle.
 6. Thelocation-based network system according to claim 1, wherein the secondcommunication node is further configured to: determine, by theprocessor, whether the data packet is received by the communicationmodule of the second communication node in a waiting period greater thanzero after the second communication node broadcasts the data packet; andbroadcast, by the communication module, the data packet again when it isdetermined by the processor that the data packet is not received by thecommunication module of the second communication node in the waitingperiod after the second communication node broadcasts the data packet.7. The location-based network system according to claim 1, wherein thesecond communication node is further configured to: determine, by theprocessor, whether the data packet is received by the communicationmodule of the second communication node in a confirmation period greaterthan zero after the second communication node broadcasts the datapacket; and increase transmission power, and broadcast, by thecommunication module, the data packet again in the increasedtransmission power when it is determined by the processor that the datapacket is not received by the communication module of the secondcommunication node in the confirmation period after the secondcommunication node broadcasts the data packet.
 8. The location-basednetwork system according to claim 1, wherein the second communicationnode is further configured to: determine, by the processor, whether thedata packet is received by the communication module of the secondcommunication node in a confirmation period greater than zero after thesecond communication node broadcasts the data packet; and activate awarning light when it is determined by the processor that the datapacket is not received by the communication module of the secondcommunication node in the confirmation period after the secondcommunication node broadcasts the data packet.
 9. A location-basednetwork system, comprising: a plurality of communication nodes, each ofthe communication nodes is installed at a fixed geographic location andcomprising at least one communication module and a processor, wherein alongitude, a latitude and an altitude of each communication node arefixed and recorded in the corresponding communication node during aninstallation process of installing the corresponding communication nodeat the fixed geographic location, the plurality of communication nodesare arranged three-dimensionally; wherein a first communication node inthe plurality of communication nodes is configured to: transmitting adata packet which is initiated by a source node which is different fromthe first communication node to a destination node without establishingany routing table, wherein the data packet broadcasted by the firstcommunication node comprising the longitude, the latitude, and thealtitude of the first communication node fixed and recorded in the firstcommunication node during the installation process and a data content;detect neighboring communication nodes and calculate a distance betweeneach of the neighboring communication nodes and the destination nodeaccording to the latitude, the longitude, and the altitude of each ofthe communication nodes and the destination node; and transmit the datapacket to the neighboring communication node nearest to the destinationnode.
 10. The location-based network system according to claim 9,wherein the location-based network system further comprises a switchnode and a terminal device communicating via the communication nodes.11. The location-based network system according to claim 10, wherein theswitch node is further connected to a cloud network platform and uploadsthe received data packet to the cloud network platform or receivesanother data packet from the cloud network platform.
 12. Thelocation-based network system according to claim 10, wherein theterminal device has the function of RFID or visible light communication.13. The location-based network system according to claim 10, wherein theterminal device is an unmanned aerial vehicle.
 14. A location-basednetwork system, comprising: a plurality of communication nodes, each ofthe communication nodes is installed at a fixed geographic location andcomprising at least one communication module and a processor, wherein alongitude, a latitude and an altitude of each communication node arefixed and recorded in the corresponding communication node during aninstallation process of installing the corresponding communication nodeat the fixed geographic location, the plurality of communication nodesare arranged three-dimensionally; wherein a first communication node inthe plurality of communication nodes is configured to: transmit aconnection acquire signal to the neighboring communication nodes fortransmitting a data packet from a source node which is different fromthe first communication node to a destination node without establishingany routing table, the connection acquire signal including the latitude,the longitude, and the altitude of the first communication node fixedand recorded in the first communication node during the installationprocess; receive connection acknowledgement signals from the availableneighboring communication nodes in the plurality of communication nodes,each of the connection acknowledgement signals including the latitude,the longitude, and the altitude of the corresponding availableneighboring communication node; calculate a distance between each of theavailable neighboring communication nodes and the destination nodeaccording to the latitude, the longitude, and the altitude of each ofthe available neighboring communication node and the destination node;select an available neighboring communication node nearest to thedestination node to connect to, and broadcast the data packet to theavailable neighboring communication node nearest to the destinationnode, wherein the data packet broadcasted by the first communicationnode comprises a longitude, a latitude and an altitude of the firstcommunication node fixed and recorded in the first communication nodeduring the installation process and a data content.
 15. Thelocation-based network system according to claim 14, wherein the firstcommunication node receives a routing path transmitted by thedestination node, the routing path including all the communication nodesselected to transmit the data packet after the data packet issuccessfully transmitted to the destination node, and stores the routingpath and uses the stored routing path for transmitting other data packetto the same destination node.
 16. The location-based network systemaccording to claim 14, wherein the location-based network system furthercomprises a switch node and a terminal device communicating via thecommunication nodes.
 17. The location-based network system according toclaim 16, wherein the switch node is further connected to a cloudnetwork platform and uploads the received data packet to the cloudnetwork platform or receives another data packet from the cloud networkplatform.
 18. The location-based network system according to claim 16,wherein the terminal device has the function of RFID or visible lightcommunication.
 19. The location-based network system according to claim16, wherein the terminal device is an unmanned aerial vehicle.